“”Beliefs about God across Time and Countries,” analyzes 30 countries based on surveys from the International Social Survey Programme conducted as far back as 1991”
“Beliefs about God across Time....as far back as 1991”
Wow! Somehow, I always assumed that “Time” was a little more grand than a mere 21 years.
I guess the old adage. “I’m 21 and I know EVERYTHING!” is still true. /s
http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2012/04/18/belief-god-rises-age-even-atheist-nations
EXCERPT:
Belief is highest among older adults. On average, 43 percent of those aged 68 and older are certain that God exists, compared with 23 percent of those 27 and younger, according to the report.
Many sociologists who have studied people’s beliefs in God over time contend that there is a cohort effect; young people who are more likely to doubt God’s existence carry their disbelief with them as they age, meaning that societies as a whole are tending to become more secular. But the NORC study suggests it’s possible instead that people change their beliefs over time.
“Looking at differences among age groups, the largest increases in belief in God most often occur among those 58 years of age and older. This suggests that belief in God is especially likely to increase among the oldest groups, perhaps in response to the increasing anticipation of mortality,” Smith said. He noted that the higher level of belief does not appear to be simply a cohort effect.
In the United States, for instance, 54 percent of people younger than 28 said they were certain of God’s existence, compared with 66 percent of the people 68 and older.
In countries with low overall belief in God, the difference in belief between age groups is also strong. In France, for example, 8 percent of younger people said they were certain that God exists, compared with 26 percent of the people 68 and older. In Austria, 8 percent of the younger generation said they were certain in their belief, while 32 percent of people 68 and older were confident of God’s existence.
The surveys were taken in 1991, 1998 and 2008, when 42 countries were surveyed. The study was done on countries that had been surveyed at least twice.